The Development of Childhood Bilingualism

Bilingualism is a fact of life for the majority of the world's population. Indeed it is estimated that about two-thirds of the world's population is bilingual (Baker & Prys Jones, 1998). There are anywhere between 5000 and 6000 languages in the world today (Grimes, 2000) and only about 190 countries in which to house them (World Almanac, 2003), which indicate how widespread language contact within individual countries must be. Although the ability to use two or more languages is, therefore, more common than monolingual competence (Mackey, 1967), bilingualism has traditionally been treated as a special case or a deviation from the monolingual norm (Romaine, 1995: 8). Most linguistic research has tended to focus on monolinguals and has treated bilinguals as exceptions. For instance, Chomsky's (1965: 3) theory of grammar is concerned primarily with 'an ideal speaker–listener, in a completely homogeneous speech-community, who knows its language perfectly.' Given the emphasis on describing the linguistic competence of the ideal monolingual speaker, bilingualism has necessarily been regarded as problematic, an impure form of communication by people who do not seem to know either language fully.

Strictly speaking, it would be difficult to find someone who thinks bilingualism is downright bad. After all, one can reasonably argue that knowing two languages is always better than knowing one. Indeed many people think that bilingualism (or multilingualism) is a sign of intellectual prowess and sophistication – those who have competence in several languages are often regarded with envy and admiration. However, unlike in many European and African countries where it is considered a valuable asset, bilingualism in the United States is often treated as a problem and a stigma. This is because those who are bilingual in the US are usually poor and from immigrant and/or racial minority backgrounds. The attitude of the Anglo-American majority and of the general public is that individuals of language minority backgrounds should be rapidly integrated into English-speaking mainstream society. The bilingualism of immigrant populations indicates that they are (still) speaking their minority languages, which is interpreted as resistance to a full integration into American society. As Grosjean (1982: 66) put it: 'The pressure to Americanize and to become monolingual in English has led the country into a bizarre paradox: most Americans, many of whose families are originally of a foreign language background, prove to be extremely incompetent in learning and speaking foreign languages.' Obviously not all bilingualism is alike. Indeed, while the bilingualism of majority English-speaking populations is prized and appreciated, the bilingualism of minority groups is considered a liability.

Compared to other language-related disciplines, bilingualism is a relatively new field of study and currently rather poorly understood. Systematic studies of childhood bilingualism, in particular, are severely lacking compared to studies of the development of monolingual children. We currently know relatively little about why and how some children become bilingual while others do not. Much more research would be required of different groups of children who take different routes to bilingualism in childhood and ways in which their bilingualism is perceived and valued in different ways. This chapter highlights what I see as most salient and also most problematic in the study of bilingual children. Any research into the bilingual development of children must not only entail the linguistic, pragmatic and cognitive development of children but also needs to be firmly rooted in its social and cultural context. However, as we shall see, much of the available research on childhood bilingualism is limited in scope – for example, studies often treat children's bilingualism as purely a phenomenon of language acquisition and give little regard to the social context in which the two languages are acquired (De Houwer, 1995; Genesee, 1989). In addition, few studies precisely describe their subjects' linguistic history or exposure patterns, which are necessary for cross-study comparisons (Schieffelin, 1994).

These difficulties notwithstanding, in the rest of this chapter, I outline the theoretical frameworks that have provided the foundations for the study of Korean American children. First, I discuss some of the common myths around being bilingual and establish a definition of bilingualism that I shall use throughout this book. Then I will review the research that illustrates the interactional value of codeswitching and introduce the sequential framework which will be used in the analysis of the Korean American children's language mixing. I review issues related to language acquisition by children who are exposed to two languages simultaneously from birth (i.e. 'simultaneous acquisition') and by children who are subsequently exposed to the second language later in childhood (i.e. 'successive acquisition'). Related to language acquisition, I discuss language socialization of bilingual children and how language development is influenced by the attitude of family members and school personnel toward the two languages in the child's linguistic repertoire. There is also a brief review of research on bilingual education and the controversies surrounding dual-language education of linguistic minority children. Research findings that emphasize the need for native-language development and maintenance by language minority children will be reviewed. Along this line, I discuss factors that contribute to language shift in the immigrant family and the costs associated with the loss of the heritage language. But first, I turn to a definition of bilingualism.

Definition of Bilingualism

Before embarking on a study of bilingual children, it is necessary to discuss what constitutes bilingualism in individuals. However, the task of defining who is and is not a bilingual is not as simple as it may at first appear. For example, one might reasonably argue that a bilingual is someone who can speak two languages. However, this definition is problematic for a number of reasons. How well should the person speak each of the languages to be considered bilingual? Can we consider someone who is just starting to learn a second language and who, therefore, knows only a few words in the second language bilingual? Is there an absolute minimal proficiency in the second language required in order for someone to qualify as a bilingual? Is a bilingual someone who has equal competence in both languages? But what exactly is meant by equal competence in two languages? What about someone who can understand a second language perfectly but...